Bradford Council for Mosques last night rejected claims that Channel 4’s decision to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer every morning during Ramadan could inflame community tensions.

But Zulfi Karim, secretary of the group, said he believed the channel was ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ by airing the call to prayer as part of a series during the holy month and that anyone who didn’t want to watch it could ‘turn it off’.

Channel 4’s head of factual programming Ralph Lee said the call to prayer had previously been nearly invisible on mainstream television, but the company has faced accusations which could stir up tensions within communities.

Mr Karim said he was ‘neutral’ about the decision, adding: “I think this is Channel 4’s attempt to appeal to a more diverse community,. They are taking an opportunity to reach that target audience and capitalise on it. It’s going to be very early in the morning, so I don’t know how many people will be tuning in at call to prayer time.

“As far as whether it will cause any tensions, people have got the choice to turn it off if they don’t want to watch. Really, I’m neutral about it. It’s something that’s been happening for a long time and Channel 4 is jumping on the bandwagon.”

Channel 4 will screen a three-minute call by Hassen Rasool, a muezzin, from the start of Ramadan on Tuesday. It will then break into its regular schedule to mark the first prayer of each day at 3am and, on the first day will air 20-second clips of the call at other prayer times, at 1.11pm, 5.26pm, 9.20pm and 10.49pm.

The channel’s series about Ramadan, which begins later this month, will include a documentary with Rashid Khan, who starred in the award-winning Make Bradford British, which examines how Muslims in Britain prepare for the holy month.

Writing about the channel’s decision to broadcast the call to prayer in the Radio Times, Mr Lee said: “It’s easy for non-Muslims to see Islam through a superficial prism of what is forbidden, and Ramadan through the physical hardship of fasting and control. For Muslims, however, Ramadan provides great physical and spiritual gains.

“It’s a time of reformation and reflection, whether that’s developing a greater awareness of the suffering of others, feeling a stronger affinity with their Muslim brothers and sisters around the world, or resolving to change the way they live their lives for the greater good.”

The Bishop of Bradford Nick Baines said: “Channel 4 has a remit to provoke and question.

“Exposing us to what is unfamiliar might educate us and help us experience what Muslims do.

“I now look forward to hearing them broadcast church bells every day in advent."